Unlocking iPhone 3GS: The AT&T Dilemma

Unlocking iPhone is nothing new. People have been doing it for years it seems. Many iPhone owners are satisfied with the service that they are getting from at&t and don’t mind signing up for one of those expensive iPhone plans. And if you don’t like at&t, you can just buy an unlocked iPhone, right? In reality, at&t has a lot of control on what you can and can’t do with the phone. iPhone has been a big investment project for at&t, and it is not going to let you cut them off that easily. But what at&t has underestimated is the desire of iPhone owners to have more control on what they do with their device. Sure you have to sign an agreement to only use at&t as your carrier. That doesn’t mean people are going to respect that. Just take a look at all those people who are using T-mobile.

I have never felt easy about the exclusive deal between Apple and at&t. Not to say that Apple can’t decide which company they want to do business with, but it really undermines how much control we have as consumers to get the biggest bang for our buck. By not allowing other carriers to get involved with the whole iPhone movement, consumers are stuck with only two option: go with at&t or unlock the phone.

Many consumers feel helpless in the face of at&t and Apple’s determination to control everything. In reality, you can always jailbreak your phone and set your phone free. A few months ago, people still didn’t trust these jailbreak releases. Many were afraid of killing their phone. But the developers behind these applications are constantly upgrading their releases to address the latest Apple software changes. Should you jailbreak your phone? It really depends. If you are happy with at&t and have never had any desire to try any other carrier, maybe you shouldn’t. But if you are among thousands of disgruntled iPhone owners who want more from their phone, jailbreak can set your phone free. Hopefully, Apple will bring more carriers to the table once its at&t agreement is up.